Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The scientific name of the tea plant is Camellia sinensis

Tea, commonly known as tea plant, tea bush, or tea tree is a shrub or small tree that is grown for its leaves. The leaves and leaf buds are processed differently to attain varying levels of oxidation, to produce the popular beverage called tea.

The major tea varieties grown in Kenya are:

• Camellia sinensis var. sinensis - Chinary
• Camellia sinensis var. assamica- Assamica
• Camellia sinensis var. cambodiensis - Cambod

The Tea Board of Kenya is a State Corporation in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development established by Tea Act No. 23 of 2020 to develop, regulate and promote tea sub-sector. The Board is governed by a Board of Directors) appointed by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Agriculture and Livestock Development while day-to-day operations are directed by the Chief Executive Officer.

• NO
• Tea Board of Kenya guides the development, promotion, and regulation of the tea industry for the benefit of the tea growers and other stakeholders;
• KTDA is a private company owned by about 600,000 smallholder tea farmers spread across 19 tea growing counties in Kenya. The farmers are shareholders to 54 tea companies that own KTDA (H) and its 8 subsidiary companies.

IMIS System is a project by Tea Board of Kenya for the automation its business process.

The role of the system is to enable stakeholders in the tea industry acquire regulatory documents from remote locations and at their convenience without having to visit the agency.

The system will facilitate the achievement of efficiency gains and as well integrate to the Kentrade Trade Facilitation Portal (TFP), Payment Platform and other applications as may be appropriate to provide an online platform for stakeholder interaction with Tea Board of Kenya.

Registration as a dealer is done through IMIS. You can be a:

• Warehouse Operator
• Management Agent
• Manufacturer
• Auction Organizer
• Exporter
• Packer
• Broker

• Black CTC tea is oxidized tea manufactured through cutting, tearing and curling machine and graded through separation of particle sizes using various meshes.
• Orthodox Tea are loose-leaf tea that is produced using traditional (or orthodox) methods of tea production, which involve plucking, withering, rolling, oxidation/fermentation and drying. Orthodox teas can be of different color and size depending on the conditionings.

Tea offers a strong source of antioxidants,

• Tea reduces the risk of heart disease – 
• Tea hydrates the body 
• Tea prevents tooth decay - 
• Slimming through tea drinking?
• Boosting memory power with tea